


Fluttering Chances and Catching Coattails

by Interjection



Category: Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Gen, Hypixel - Freeform, It's more minecraft than Hermitcraft, Like the Hermits are present in 10 percent of this, POV Outsider, What Have I Done, it's only mentioned but it does get pretty relevent, the server/world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:35:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24755632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Interjection/pseuds/Interjection
Summary: An alternate perspective to Sharo'sStumbling into a New World.-----Xisuma joined the game.Ly5 blinked."Who?" Isse asked, confusion sketching across their face.Joehillssays joined the game.And as Ly5 watched, at least 20 new messages rapidly followed, each signalling the arrival of a new player to the world."What," Ly5 said deliberatingly, lifting his head to stare into the eyes of everyone else in the room, "is this?"_____A simple mistake by the Hermits becomes the most fortunate thing a world of hardcore players could have ever hoped for.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 113





	Fluttering Chances and Catching Coattails

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sharo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharo/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Stumbling into a New World](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24694750) by [Sharo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharo/pseuds/Sharo). 



> I love POV Outsider fics, and couldn't get the idea of this one out of my mind. This is the perspective of some of the other players in _Stumbling into a New World_ by Sharo. It turned out to be a bit more than just another perspective, though.

They were having lunch together in the base when the first message popped up.

_Xisuma joined the game._

Ly5 blinked.

"Who?" Isse asked, confusion sketching itself across their face. They slowly put down the apple they had been eating back onto the table.

_Joehillssays joined the game._

And as Ly5 watched, around 20 new messages rapidly followed, each signalling the arrival of a new player to the world.

"What," Ly5 said deliberately, lifting his head to stare into the eyes of everyone else in the room, "is this?"

Everyone's head immediately swiveled to Trezker, who was tapping uncertainly at his communicator.

"Um, new players are joining this world?" he provided uncertainly.

"Very helpful," Xero snarked dryly.

"Xero!" Isse said, "we've been over this. Save your venting for when the war is over, not before. I'm tired of hearing everyone grump and complain all the time."

"Can we focus on _why_ twenty new players just sudden spawned?" Moria hissed. "Did Obery's group find a way to import reinforcements?"

Everyone suddenly stilled at the thought. It was a chilling idea, but - Obery _couldn't_ have. Aside from Xero, everyone else had spawned into this world naturally, and _no one_ had it left before. According to Xero, there were ways to leave and find another world to inhabit, worlds where dying didn't mean the end but was instead a mere inconvenience, but to everyone else that reality might as well have been a passing dream. Impossible to achieve, because none of them, not even the admins, knew how to get out.

"Xero," Ly5 said sharply. "Remind us again how you got here?"

"A portal of some sort," he said. "Admins of a world have the power to make them in that world. Can configure it to spawn into any uninhabited world, or inhabited world if the admins of that other world didn't stop them. One of them messed up the portal calibration and I was the first one to step through."

"And for the last time," he added, glaring at Trezker, "I don't know where admins learn how to make them."

"You think Obery found a way?" Isse asked. "To configure a portal and recruit more players?"

"If that was the case, why wouldn't he just leave?" Trezker mumbled. "Surely a world with - uh, _respawn_ would be better than killing us and taking over this sorry place."

Xero sighed, irritation clear. 

"Obviously, it wasn't Obery. One of two options here - either the same thing that happened to me happened to them," Xero swept his gaze across everyone in the room, grim and resolved, “or..."

"They're here to take over this world," Ly5 finished. 

"Yes," Xero sighed. "It's relatively unaltered compared to most other worlds - you guys haven't even explored the Nether or End yet. And you're still stuck in 1.10. If they kill us all one of their number will default to becoming the new admin. Probably one who knows what they're doing and can update this world."

"Great," Moria huffed. "Any idea where they are?"

"Um, spawn," Trezker said after tapping away at his communicator for a few seconds. "Should we check...?"

"Probably," Ly5 mused. He stalked over to their map of the area, pointing at the starter tower. Well, previous starter tower - now, it was more like Obery's occasional vacation home, though they preferred to just call it the spawn tower. "This is the closest structure to spawn, so these players will probably go there, assuming Obery didn't have any involvement."

"Who wants to go scout and possibly die a painful death?" Moria asked. "Not it."

"I'm the admin?" Trezker asked uncertainly. That was a fair point, though the only thing Trezker really provided in that department was coordinates and player tracking. Well, at least Obery didn't know _any_ commands yet.

"Do we even need a scout?" Xero asked, narrowing his eyes at Ly5. "Sounds like it's too dangerous. We're already at a number disadvantage compared to Obery's group."

"We need the information," Ly5 said. "Maybe you're used to strange new players joining random worlds, but these people outnumber us 4 to 1. And besides you, no one else has ever _joined_ this world before. We need to know their intentions."

Ly5 took a deep breath and clutched at the table's edge. Their own castle was a good ways away from the tower, but who knows what these players were here to do? If worse came to worst, he'd rather have all the information possible.

"I'll go," Isse yawned. "Feelin’ pretty suicidal today."

"Thank you for your contribution," Moria said in a deadpan voice. "I'll make sure to put some pretty flowers on your grave. Can't promise an actual body beneath it, though."

"If only we have invisibility potions," Xero muttered. "Can't believe _no one_ knows anything about potions here."

"Be careful," Trezker said, sounding pained. "Take the diamond armor set - the best enchanted one. And the sword with it. We also still have some golden apples left-"

"Are you sure we should risk losing it-"

"SHUT UP!" Trezker suddenly snarled, rounding on Ly5. "It's bad enough Isse is possibly going into their death. Do you really have to-to-"

"I'm trying to be practical," Ly5 sighed. Was that not why he made the descions and not Trezker? After all, despite how most players had sided with Obery in the beginning of the war, they'd lost far fewer members than the opposing side. Obery had expected a quick, easy win. Ly5 had dragged it into a long, strategic game of patience and timing.

"I vote they take the armor," Xero sighed. Moria looked hesitant, but after a short while, also nodded in agreement.

“A horse as well,” she added. “And don’t be scared to use it as a meatshield. We can always breed more.”

"Very well," Ly5 relented. "Do try to keep your head, Isse."

"I'll _try_ ," Isse muttered. They strode over to the armor stands and started to equip the gear, swiftly armoring themselves and taking out various weapons and food from the chests. When they'd finished, they quickly and quietly headed for the door. No one said a word as Isse slipped out and closed the dark oak barrier behind them.

When the last of their shimmering armor and galloping horse could no longer be seen from the rampart of the castle, Ly5 slowly strode down into his room and took out a book and quill from his ender chest.

_Scout report #340_

_Scout(s): IsseIre_

_Status: Awaiting Response_

_Equipment: Full Diamond Armor (fully enchanted). Diamond Sword (fully enchanted for player combat). Bow (fully enchanted). 3 stacks of steak. Horse (iron horse armor). Normal Scout Supplies._

_Combat Directive: Avoid combat at all costs._

_Location: Spawn tower area._

_Objective: Obtain as much information as possible about 19 new players spawned into the world, origins and circumstances unknown._

With that, he closed the book and stored it back.

Ly5 peered out the single window in his room, trapdoor shutters wide open. Moria was on guard duty right now. Xero was tending to their crops and animals. Trezker was sorting out better enchantments for their armor sets.

Right now was supposed to be his time off to relax, but the only thing Ly5 could feel was creeping dread, the culmination of several years at war rearing its bloody head to savagely snap at his calm, controlled mind in one huge tsunami. 

_These new players, what if they-_

_but-_

_they could kill us all-_

_I need to-_

_what if Isse-_

_I need to plan-_

_I-_

_I can’t think clearly, I can’t, I can’t-_

_I must-_

Ly5 slammed a fist down on his bedside table, biting back a pained gasp as he shakily drew his hand away. 

_Deep breaths. In, out. In, out._

Ly5 was going to take a nap, he decided. The others could handle everything without him for a little while.

At least, he hoped.

* * *

Isse tethered the lead to the fence post and gently patted the horse’ head (this one they called Bolt the 3rd). Hopefully, he wouldn’t meet as grisly a fate as his predecessors.

“I’ll be back...maybe,” they sighed. “Be good, now.” Hopefully, the tiny dark forest they’d parked Bolt the 3rd would provide enough cover.

With that, Isse got down and slowly began crawling to where the line of dark oaks met the sunlit plains. Luckly, this was the highest area of the island, which meant they could get a good view peeking from waves of grass while hopefully not getting spotted.

“Let’s see,” Isse muttered, narrowing their eyes at the spawn tower in the distance. It was surrounded by a few of the new players, moving around it at a rather frantic pace. Placed dozens of blocks away, they could only hear faint, incoherent shouting, but the quiet shrill of sliding metal brought their attention to the bridge that connected the island to the mainland.

On the bridge, a blond figure clad in iron was dueling several other players at once - a quick examination confirmed that among them were Jaspar, Bsul, and 0vym00n, all part of Obery’s group. Several other players, among them a strange looking blue one, were running for the tower.

A few seconds later, Isse confirmed that a total of 5 out of 7 of Obery’s group was there. As more of the strange new players ran to back up the blond one (who was holding up quite impressively), Isse took out a book and quill. 

_Scout Report #340_

_New players appear to have taken over spawn tower. Five of Obery’s group there, fighting them. Jaspar, Bsul44, 0vym00n -_ Isse looked up and squinted - _E420, and Macleylovley_. _In combat with new players._ _Oberytalisman and Kykrky_3 nowhere to be seen._

_No indication who started attacking first. Battle taking place mainly on bridge. One new player currently in full iron. More new players in iron coming. New players driving Obery’s patrol back. No visible loss of life so far._

Isse wished there was some way for them to zoom in with their vision. They settled for crawling a dozen or so blocks closer to the scene, hiding their flattened body in the midst of some tall grass.

_New player descriptions - one in full iron is blond, has goggles. Long hair._

_One player with blue skin, white hoodie._

_Another blond player, curly hair…_

Isse continued writing. But as they were nearly done with descriptions, the sound of loud booming suddenly jolted their quill - Isse jerked their head up and watched as TNT was fired at the new players.

_Obery’s group have the resources to make TNT cannons on the spot - are currently using them against new players. New players retreating into the spawn tower. Obery’s group also retreating a bit later - are blowing up bridge to mainland behind them._

What jerks. That bridge had been Isse’s first real build in this world, when they’d been fresh and new and naive. They sighed.

_If I survive this mission I’ll build you a grave too._

After a while, when all the new players remained holed up and it became clear none were coming back out to engage, the patrol at the other side of the bridge began to move northwest. Probably back to Obery’s actual defense base. 

Isse waited some more, until the moon began to rise up and herald the start of nightime. But the new players, besides adding some light sources to the tower windows, did not do anything else that they could see.

_New players appear to be taking residence in spawn tower. Light sources placed inside, probably other modifications made too._

_Observed from same angle, crawling in tall grass in front of dark oak forest on island, until moonrise. End of scouting report._

Isse snapped the book shut. They took out an ender chest and plopped it in before picking the chest back up and turning around.

“Time to head home,” they muttered softly, beginning the slow crawl back to Bolt the 3rd. 

* * *

“I’m back!”

Ly5 nearly tripped down the stairs in his hurry to reach Isse, still clad in diamond and appearing relatively unharmed.

“Great,” Xero mumbled, munching on some pumpkin pie in the dining/living area they used for meetings. 

“Moria! Trezker!” Ly5 shouted at the ceiling. “Isse’s back!”

“Coming!” Moria’s muffled call sounded from her room above.

A few minutes later, when Isse had stored away their gear and taken out their scout report book, and Ly5 had his own log out, Isse began.

“I don’t think anyone saw me,” Isse began. They recounted what they saw, Ly5’s quill furiously scribbling away copying both Isse’s written report and additional verbal additions they’d forgotten to record.

“So what do we do now?” Trezker asked finally after Isse was done recounting. “We can’t just… ignore this.”

“Sending someone to talk sounds risky,” Moria sighed, “considering they were fighting Obery’s patrol.”

“It sounds like Obery’s group got their asses handed to them too,” Xero chuckled. 

“Hm, weird…” Trezker muttered. “I can’t see those players’ coordinates anymore.”

Everyone shared uncertain glances, but none of them knew enough to add anything about that.

“Well, we’ll have to keep that in mind,” Ly5 said. “I don’t think there’s much we can do about that.”

“Wonder who their leader is,” Trezker said. “Maybe we could request a meeting?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Ly5.

“Certainly we can _try_ ,” Ly5 sighed. “How do we ensure the messenger doesn’t get killed?”

“We should just send Isse to the roulette wheel again,” Moria snickered. Isse rolled their eyes.

“I’ve had my turn, but it’s been a while since _you’ve_ been on a mission, Moria,” they scoffed. “Volunteer yourself instead.”

“...I’ll go,” Ly5 said.

Xero blinked. Trezker gaped at him. Moria and Isse both stilled and stared with wide eyes.

“What?” Trezker spluttered. “But you-”

“-are the leader?” Ly5 raised an eyebrow. “Technically we have no leader, remember? The whole point of our group is to oppose Obery’s attempts at a command structure in this world.”

“Dude, you might as well be our leader. You make most of our strategic decisions,” Isse said. “You know it. We’d all be dead meat without you.”

“I’m also the best at diplomacy,” Isse said. “I probably have the highest chance of convincing them to not murder us all on the spot.”

“How about we all go?” Trezker suggested quietly. “Since they have the numbers to kill us all, if we all go it wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway. And we could potentially bluff by claiming there’s a lot more of us.”

“You know Obery’s group outnumbered us 5 to 1 in the beginning, right?” Isse yawned. “Don’t be so eager to embrace the void just yet.”

“We could also wait for Obery to make a move,” Ly5 considered. “But I doubt he’ll do anything first. Obery’s been playing things much safer in the past two years.”

After some more conversation, it was agreed that Isse would head out again tomorrow to continue spying on the new players, continuing the scouting mission daily until they had enough information to determine if they should risk a meeting.

Finally, Ly5 added one more thing to the Scouting Book as everyone prepared for bed.

_Scouting mission addition - Isse will continue to watch the new players from afar until enough information is gleaned to make a further move._

_Day 2 Scouting Results -_

Hopefully, they would know more soon.

* * *

_ <IsseIre> whispered to <Ly5> Obery’s group is heading for the tower! _

Ly5 scrambled up and actually tumbled down the stairs this time.

“What-”

“Obery’s group is engaging the new players,” Ly5 gasped, blinking rapidly as Moria’s concerned expression leaned forward.

That expression quickly turned into shock.

“It’s only been - what? Two, three days since the new players came?” she asked.

_ <IsseIre> whispered to <Ly5> they’re all geared in fully enchanted diamond. Pretty sure they’re using the superior gear to intimidate them into submission or overpower them or something. 7 vs 19 is def very doable if the other side only has a few diamond pieces and mostly unenchanted iron. _

“Trezker, Xero!” Ly5 called. “Gear up the best you can and saddle a horse, we’re leaving for the spawn tower as soon as possible!”

_ <IsseIre> they’re rebuilding the bridge! How they’re massacring my baby’s memory, noooooo _

“Why?” Moria asked immediately as Ly5 typed a reply to Isse.

_ <Ly5> whispered to <IsseIre> stay hidden! We’re all coming. Prepare yourself - this might be our chance to “clean up” Obery’s group after the fight. We’ll try to be there in 15 min on horse._

“Obery’s group will be exhausted and injured after a battle with the new players, and vice versa,” Ly5 said. “Either way, after a battle like that we’ll be the most powerful group in this world PVP-wise. We need to take advantage of that window of time if we can.”

Moria nodded and dashed to the armory, Ly5 quick on her footsteps.

After they all geared up with the best enchanted diamond armor and weapons they could (regrettably, a few pieces were still missing the best enchantments), Ly5 quickly went over the plan at the main door.

“Stay hidden as much as possible,” he warned, saddling up his horse. “If Obery’s group sees us, our advantage will be completely lost.”

The others nodded grimly. Ly5 took a deep breath and stirred his horse forward. 

This could be it. This could be the final fight. 

They just had to play their cards right.

* * *

“Here!” Isse’s whisper-shout was from the left. Ly5 spotted them in their glowing armor, covered by grass, also crouching behind a dark oak tree. 

“Obery’s group have taken a pickaxe to the tower,” Isse whispered to the rest of the group. “They’re all inside now.”

“Let’s give it a few more minutes,” Ly5 decided. “They should come out soon after the fighting’s done, and if after a while they don’t, one of us will ride up to take a look.”

Suddenly, a message sounded from all their communicators.

_ <Joehillssays> has left the game. _

_ <ImpulseSV> has left the game. _

_ <GoodTimeWithScar> has left the game. _

More names continued leaving, the same list that had joined this world days ago. Ly5 watched, intently counting, as every one of the new players left this word, until finally, the chat lingered on:

_ <cubfan135> has left the game. _

“Is-is that it?” Trezker asked after a few more seconds.

“That’s all of them,” Ly5 said. “All 19. They’ve all left.”

“There’s no death messages for Obery's group,” Isse commented. “Bummer.”

“They probably tried to avoid combat, then,” Moria sighed. “Which means they’re probably not weakened enough for us to get some easy kills.”

Ly5’s mind churned. _Left the world_. The very first time players to ever leave this world. But - Xero had said admins of each world could set up “portals” to other worlds.

Trezker and Obery were the only admins of this world.

“How did they leave?” Ly5 whispered.

“Herobrine’s hithers!” Xero’s eyes went wide. “Right - it should have been impossible! A portal can be accidentally calibrated to the wrong world, but to create a portal back out requires admin powers - but that means-”

“Obery must have figured something out,” Trezker said, voice trembling. “But then what was-”

“Yeah, now nothing that’s happened in the past three days makes any sense,” Isse muttered. “Like, _what?_ ”

“No, there’s another option,” Xero said. “They have a voidwalker with them.”

“What’s a voidwalker?” Trezker asked. Ly5 faintly recalled Xero mentioning voidwalkers before, but any concrete memories eluded him.

“They’re like - glitches, basically. Glitches from the End dimension. Beings that can go to any world they want without any portals,” Xero said. “But they also have the ability to create portals for players. A lot of players think they’re myths, since they’re so rare, but I’ve actually seen a voidwalker using their powers before. They can do some dangerous stuff.”

“So you think that’s what - they have a voidwalker with them?” Moria asked.

“Either way, there has to be an exit portal of some kind, doesn’t there?” Ly5 muttered. But how would that portal be different from-

“Obery’s group is leaving!” Isse hissed suddenly. Everyone turned their attention back onto the tower, peeking out from behind dark oaks to observe 7 shiny diamond-clad figures streaming out of the spawn tower.

“Are - are they just leaving the tower?” Moria asked. “Just like that? It’s all done?”

“Wait,” Ly5 hissed. “Be quiet.”

They waited in silence until Obery’s group was far out of sight.

And then they waited some time longer. With Ly5 silencing any attempts at questions or noise, the others began to play a quiet game of pictionary, substituting verbal guesses with words written in a book. They all knew better than to disturb Ly5 in one of his “strategizing” moment.

“I think we can go in now,” Ly5 announced a few hours later, as the moon was well on her way across the sky.

“Uh, finally?” Isse muttered, moving away from their scribbling. They tore a page out and weighed it down with a few iron bars atop a dark oak log. "Sleep tight, bridge," they hummed.

“Xero, how is a normal admin’s portal different from a voidwalker’s?” Ly5 asked.

“Uh, I’m not sure on this, but they seem to work the same way,” Xero said. Ly5 nodded.

“We’re going into the tower to see if the portal’s still there,” he said. “Let’s hurry. I waited this long to ensure Obery’s group isn’t coming back, but we never know.”

Isse gasped quietly behind him.

"You think we can-"

Ly5 tilted his head and quickly broke cover, eyes fixated on the spawn tower growing ever closer.

* * *

“This is it, then?” Ly5 asked, gesturing at the strange mess of redstone parts they’d found tuck away in one of the tower’s corners. Repeaters, comparators, observers, redstone dust - he was semi-familiar with it, but even with Xero’s input learned from the other worlds, he still always felt they’d never utilized redstone’s full potential.

All the wiring surrounded an obsidian portal cornered by four dull, strange pale blocks with tiny faded lights at the center. A fifth one was atop a glowing redstone torch right in front of the portal, redstone wiring running from it to the rest of the contraption.

Ly5 took a few seconds to try and make sense of it before giving up.

“This redstone is making my brain melt,” Trezker muttered. “Ly5, can you understand any of it?”

“No,” Ly5 said, turning to Xero.

“Can’t say it makes sense to me,” Xero said, studying the portal. “But I’ve seen setups similar to this in other worlds - it’s a portal out, alright, but it's currently deactivated. The center of their function is these command blocks here - no normal player can obtain these.” He pointed at the strange pale blocks. “Though I usually only see four of them, not five.”

“But - can we-” Moria turned to Trezker with wide eyes.

“Now, I could be interpreting everything wrong,” Xero said slowly. “But from what I’ve seen and heard, admins have the ability to make and activate command blocks, and use them to build portals between worlds. We already have the portal built. We already have the command blocks. Theoretically, Trezker should have the power to activate the command blocks and set a destination in them, thus activating the portal again.”

“We could - we could get out of here,” Moria whispered, excitement rising in her voice as she continued. “Everyone, we might actually be able to leave this stupid place! No more fearing death everyday!”

“Woah, I - um. I still have no idea how to do any of that?” Trezker coughed. “Any tips, Xero?”

Xero winced.

“I’ve heard admins describe it as a very instinctual thing, that you just have to have the will or something, but that’s about it,” he said. “Which means you might have a shot. But, not very helpful, is it?”

“I believe in you, Trezker!” Moria said. “Come on, you can do it!”

“Where was that faith when I went scouting!?” Isse yelped. “Or literally any other time during this war?”

“Hush, we don’t talk about that,” Moria said. “Come on, Trezker, we all believe in you.”

“What do you think of when you pull player coordinates?” Ly5 asked. “Maybe that’ll help.”

“Here,” Xero said, using a pickaxe to break the command blocks. He tossed them to Trezker. “One last thing I just remembered - some worlds are open, unwhitelisted worlds like this one, which means any admin at any portal can configure their portal to end up here. Most worlds are locked, which means the opposite, but there are a few worlds that don’t function as… residence worlds, you could say.”

Xero paused, brows furrowing.

“And?” Ly5 asked, leaning in.

“Hold on, let me jog my memory a bit,” he muttered. “Right. So I know that each world has a… ‘code’ attached to it. Not sure what the official term is. But it’s basically something that identifies that world as… _that world_ , and most worlds’ ‘codes’ are just a bunch of random numbers. They're involved in portal configuration in some way. However, voidwalkers can actually change that code to something else, something more memorable, for example. And a few of the open worlds, mostly the famous ones, do have their codes changed.”

“So I try to… add a code to these command blocks?” Trezker asked, glancing down at the strange blocks.

“You can try-”

“Wait!” he gasped. “I - I think I can enter something into them! It's similar to when I pull up the admin screen of my communicator, except it’s sort of in my head.”

“So would you happen to know any of these open worlds’ codes?” Isse asked, glancing at Xero.

“There’s a few pretty famous worlds,” he muttered. “Mineplex, Wynncraft, Cubecraft... though that last one was going pretty downhill last I checked... go with Hypixel,” Xero finally instructed. “That’s the name of the world. The code is ‘mc.hypixel.net’.”

After a few moments, the command blocks lit up. Hesitantly, Trezker placed each command block in their original spots. He stepped back.

Nothing.

“Um,” Isse said after a minute. “I don’t think that worked.”

“Probably more complicated than just typing out the code,” Xero agreed. “I’ve heard admins talk about “stabilizing” and “routing” and other stuff I should have paid more attention to.”

Trezker collected the blocks again. “/join mc.hypixel.net?” he suggested. “Any admin stuff I do always begins with a /.”

“Worth a try,” Ly5 said.

After a few moments, the command blocks lit up again. Trezker placed four in each portal corner, but stopped when something sickly purple spluttered in and out of existence between the obsidian.

“On the right track?” Isse suggested. “At least we got a reaction.”

“/route?” Ly5 suggested. 

“I think the final command block was one to deactivate the portal, actually,” Xero hummed. “No wonder I thought it was a weird placement. Try putting it there just in case, but only after you've placed the first four and waited a while.”

Trezker nodded, placing the final command block.

Nothing.

Sighing, he began collecting the command blocks again.

/route mc.hypixel.net did not work. It didn’t even get a reaction. /teleport mc.hypixel.net made the portal flicker a continous silvery white, but no one could touch anything - their bodies were passing right through the flicker. After a while they began experimenting with different commands for each command block, lobbying suggestions and ever more specific configurations. 

Weirdly, Ly5 didn’t feel discouraged at all. The portal _was_ behaving weirdly and strangely a few times, though nothing came of it - but it did show they were getting some sort of reaction.

“Maybe-” Moria yawned. Ly5 suppressed the urge to yawn as well - what time was it again? He couldn’t tell in the windowless room.

“Maybe you could do specific players? /teleport Moria mc.hypixel.net, for example.”

Isse snorted.

Just as Trezker began to nod, the portal suddenly flickered, and then flared and filled into a full opaque, swirly purple.

“Wha - did someone accidentally use a flint and steel?” Xero muttered blearily. 

Everyone stiffed and scrambled back as four new command blocks suddenly popped into place in each of the portal’s corners, the tiny lights on them blinking rapidly, and Ly5 could swear it almost looked as though the blocks were _shaking_.

“Uh,” Trezker said. The original command blocks were still in his hands.

After a few minutes, the command blocks appeared to calm down, though the lights were still bright and flashing.

Finally, after a few more minutes of baited breath, a player stepped out from the portal.

_ <[redacted]> joined the world. _

“Hypixel connection support,” they announced, dusting themselves off. A dark hood covered their face, but the voice was cheerful and friendly. “Which of you are the admins?”

“Uhhh,” Trezker said, “that would be me. Only me. Only admin - here, I mean. There’s another one elsewhere. I’m Trezker.”

Ly5 and Isse shared a glance. It appeared the rest of the group were all too distracted to remember.

“Well, Trezker,” the player continued, “I’ve seen a lot of command mishaps involved in admins trying to link up their world with Hypixel, but I must say yours is by far the weirdest and stupidest I’ve ever encountered. All, uh,” the player glanced at their communicator. “160 failed connections. Wow, that’s a new record.”

“Pretty sure we tried at least 300 times,” Moria said. “Guess only some of them even resulted in anything, huh?”

“Over 300 times? You’re an even worse admin than I thought,” the “Hypixel connection support” chuckled. “Excuse me - I’m - just trying not to laugh. But seriously, how-”

“Hey! We came up with far more suggestions than Trezker,” Moria huffed.

“Yeah, blame then,” Trezker agreed. “They’re the ones who suggested what to put into the command blocks. Not me.”

That actually got a moment of silence out of the Hypixel member.

“Wait - but - don’t you know…” They turned around to stare at the portal. “Pretty expertly designed,” they murmured. “Optimized for speedy activation. But how-”

Ly5 coughed, and finally stepped forward.

“None of use have ever left this world,” he said. “And none of our admins know anything about how to make portals or leave worlds. No one’s ever been around to teach them. This portal and the command blocks we have were left by another group that came here not long ago. We think they came by accident. Either way, when they left this portal we decided to try and activate it to a destination.”

“I accidentally came here a while ago and couldn’t leave, obviously,” Xero added. “I was the one who suggested Hypixel as a destination, since I remembered the, uh, ‘mc.hypixel.net’ thing.”

The "Hypixel connection support", though Ly5 supposed "Hypixel admin" was more accurate, regarded them silently for a few moments.

“...this is a hardcore world?” they finally asked. 

Everyone silently nodded. Ly5 tensed. He still didn’t know whether to trust the player.

“Well, the portal’s open now,” they said. “I managed to get enough information to link this portal to Hypixel spawn.”

“Can - can we go in?” Moria asked, nearly quivering. 

“Yes-”

Moria suddenly let out a raw, joyous screech and barreled head first into the portal, abruptly disappearing from view in a shower of purple particles.

_ <MoriaMayday> has left the game. _

“Wow,” the Hypixel admin muttered. “Desperate, huh?”

“You’d be too if you were scared of dying every moment of your existence,” Isse huffed. “Anyway, what is Hypixel about again? Xero never told us.”

“It’s… a minigame world,” the player said. “Where you play games and meet with friends from other worlds. Umm… it’s not for residence, but I’m sure if you ask around you can find some admins willing to let you into their worlds. There’s usually plenty of worlds welcoming to new players who don’t act like jerks. Or who knows, you can join 2b2t. Your choice.”

“Well, I know all this, and I for one am ready to _finally_ get out of this hellhole,” Xero announced. He strode forward and disappeared into the portal.

_ <Xero> has left the game. _

“No more admin powers for you, Trezker,” Isse said.

“Never cared for them anyway,” Trezker yawned. “Too stressful. Bye, horrible world.” He took a running start and dash into the portal.

_ <Trezker> has left the game. _

“Well, you two coming?” the Hypixel admin asked, turning back towards the portal.

“One more thing,” Ly5 began. “There’s actually 7 other players besides us in this world.”

“Oh?”

“And we were kinda at war with them,” Isse said. “Well, technically still at war with them. But we figured out the portal might be useful while they didn’t, even though they got here first-” a triumphant curl graced their lips, “so they still don’t know about most of this.”

“They’ve definitely seen the messages,” Ly5 added. “And are probably heading here right now.”

“Well, the portal can stay open then,” the Hypixel admin said, “until they’re all through. Then we’ll close it - thanks for the heads up. Unless, you were hoping your foes would be trapped here for eternity?”

Ly5 looked down. Did he want Obery’s group to be forever trapped here? There would be no more war, but still... 

“I honestly could not care less,” Isse said. “With no permanent death, it doesn’t really matter, does it? As long as I don’t need to live in the same world as them, they could do whatever. I’m leaving everything about this world _in_ this world and starting over.”

With that, Isse smiled, the first truly happy smile Ly5 had seen on anyone in years. And they walk forward into the portal, confident and proud. And they disappeared into a foreign purple mist.

_ <IsseIre> has left the game. _

“I - “ Ly5 blinked. “I don’t know. I was the leader, you know. Well, the closest we had - it was never official - but I made all the big decisions. When to attack. When to retreat. When to rescue someone or leave them to die-”

He turned away from the Hypixel admin. There were things he’d done he wasn't proud of. 

“Hmm… but you’re leaving all that behind now,” the Hypixel admin said. “Remember, no being a jerk. No nasty comments or arguments. You’ll get banned. That'd be unfortunate.”

“I understand,” Ly5 exhaled. “I promised I won’t cause trouble. But - I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let go of it like Isse can... sorry, you probably don’t want to hear about all this.” Ly5 sighed. “I just needed to vent. Leave the portal open, I suppose - it’s only fair. I’ll be going now.”

“A wise old player once told me that all scars fade with time, even if you might never be rid of them completely,” the Hypixel admin hummed. “I’m not quite old enough myself to know for certain, but I’ve heard it rings rather true. This is a young world - created during 1.10 and never updated. You’re young yourself, too.”

“Maybe,” Ly5 reflected. He suspected he’ll be doing a lot of that. “Well, see you.”

“See you, the Hypixel admin said, stepping into the portal.

_ <[redacted]> has left the game. _

Ly5 took a deep breath. He was ready. On the other side, he would no longer have to be Ly5 the strategist, the decision maker, the rebel leader. 

He would be Ly5, just another normal player.

The idea sounded so… peaceful.

_I’m ready. I’m ready._

Ly5 took another deep breath. He closed his eyes. And he took a step forward. 

And he took another step.

 _One at a time, you’re ready_.

Another step. 

_Come on, almost there._

Another step. 

And another-

_< Ly5> has left the game._

**Author's Note:**

> Note that I tried to stick with Sharo's headcannons based on this work and their previous works as much as possible, though I may have gotten some interpretations wrong and definitely added some more of my own. Pretty sure their definition of admin and mine are very different, and even though I tried here I have a feeling I messed up. Yes I know seeds and server IPs aren't the same thing. For the purposes of this universe we're gonna say they are. I do have some differing headcannons to Sharo though, so this takes place in a different universe than any other fics I might write.
> 
> You know, this was supposed to just be a simple exploration of how the other players would have reacted to the Hermits just suddenly joining their world, paralleling Sharo's fic. It was supposed to be a few hundred, maybe a 1000 or so words long. It was not meant to develop actual new plot progression complete with attempts at emotions (tell me in the comments how well I did with that, by the way) and make me write it all in one sitting over the course of 7 hours and effectively wasting my entire day. As usual, any idea my grabby writing fingers can get ahold of will spiral waaay out of control. CURSE YOU PLOT BUNNIES, WHY DOES EVERY "oh, it'll only be a tiny ficlet" FIC TURN INTO MONSTROSITIES THAT MAKE ME OBSESS OVER THEM!?
> 
> The production value isn't held up to the standard I usually have, sorry about that. This pretty much went straight from freewriting to proofreading to posting. IRL issues have been plauging me recently, so I just needed an activity that didn't stress me out too much, and the plot bunny was just prancing right in my face!. Working on my other fic is stressful, not gonna lie.
> 
> Yes I did the math, there should be 19 Hermits. There's 24 Hermits active right now, but xB, Hypno, Beef, Etho, and Wels shouldn't have traveled with them. 24-5=19.
> 
> I started out with only a vague idea of "what _did_ the other players think? Ironically, while I aimed to capture that, none of the players here were actually the ones that interacted with the Hermits. That was all Obery's group. I was imagining Ly5 being the one breaking in to see Cub disappear, but reasoning things out as I went along and whoops. It's all Obery's group now.
> 
> By the way, the names - I tried to make them sound like plausible Minecraft names - which means they're basically all over the place. Numbers, consonants mashed together weirdly, player's full names being a longer version/slightly different version than what other players call them for short, ect. 
> 
> I do not know anyone with these Minecraft usernames, nor are any of these my usernames. I completely made nearly all of them up on the spot, and did not check if they were taken or not (probably not, they're pretty random). The only one that I didn't "come up" with is Xero, who is a tiny reference to another video game character.


End file.
